


Rumor Has It

by casliyn



Series: The Brookheimer-Egans [2]
Category: Veep (TV)
Genre: Divorce, F/M, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Rumors, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-02 21:19:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16312871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casliyn/pseuds/casliyn
Summary: After a series of divorce rumors are pinned onto Dan and Amy, their kids begin to worry for the sake of their parent's marriage and take matters into their own hands.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr: @Casliyn

"Apparently we're getting a divorce," Amy announces as she re-enters their bedroom and tosses a newspaper near his legs as he rests on the bed. 

"I'm sorry?" he raises an eyebrow at Amy as she fishes for her phone charger behind her nightstand. 

"We're breaking news." she says with a small smirk, "Got a whole page dedicated to us." she plugs the charger into the phone's charging port as she throws herself onto the bed. 

His tongue clicks as he leans forward and flips through the newspaper, "Do they have a liable source?" he questions as his eyes focus on the small print. 

Amy releases an irritated sigh and leans against the mountain of pillows, 

"According to an Insider, 'We've been arguing nonstop and you've been cheating on me with that blonde anchor from FOX News'." she rubs her temples as she peels back the covers and slides underneath the large duvet. 

Dan chuckles at that and tosses the newspaper to the side languidly. 

"Who the fuck even cares about newspapers anymore? People use them as coasters and to wipe their asses anyway." Amy rolls her eyes as he returns his eyes to his IPad. 

"The conservatives we are trying to win over in the upcoming votes," Dan states matter of factly. 

He begins to furiously type on the tablet as Amy removes her reading glasses and turns to her side to face him. 

"Do you think the kids know?" 

Ah. The kids. 

Since they were both still heavily involved in politics, they were still in the public eye and thanks to Dan's desire to being the picture perfect family, they were in the public eye more than ever. 

It was easier when the kids were younger due to the fact that they just went along with any and everything but since the kids were older now and with technology advancing, there was the ability of them being exposed to stories about them. 

"I wouldn't put it past them." he shrugs his shoulders as the results of 'Daniel Egan' filters onto the screen.

Amy cranes her neck to the side and glances at the tablet as Dan scrolls with his finger,

His mouth drops into agape and his eyebrows raise, 

"What? Are they reportin-"

"Mom. Isn't it true that if a teacher doesn't show up to class after 20 minutes you're free to go?" Amelia inquires as she walks into the bedroom with Ben trailing behind her. 

Dan quickly shuts off the tablet as Amy's body bounces upright to attention. 

The two parents exchange a look and Amy clears her throat, 

"I'm pretty sure it only applies in college." she rubs her hand up and down her arm cautiously as she watches the kids heave themselves onto the bed. 

"So if you do it in middle school do you get in trouble?" a look of concern and guilt washes onto Ben's face as his eyebrow furrows in confusion. 

"Only if you admit to it." Dan takes the tablet and places it on his respective nightstand the second Amelia tries to reach for it. 

Ben's teeth clench in guilt as his eyes go in between both Dan and Amy.

"Well..."

"Do you have something to admit to us, Ben?" Amy's eyebrows raise comically as Dan releases a chuckle along with Amelia. 

The young boy shakes his head furiously and forces himself into the small space between Dan and Amy along with his sister. 

The act causes Dan to groan and sit up underneath the covers, 

"What were you guys looking up before we came in?" Amelia leans her head against Dan's shoulder in between giggles. 

"An article on getting your teenage kids to not sleep with you anymore." Dan pipes up and points his finger towards the door. 

Amy sighs at that and tilts her head to the side, 

"Guys, we appreciate you coming in but get out." Amy ruffles Ben's brown hair. 

Ben sigh dramatically at that as he pulls his knees to his chest, 

"No way. I wanna sleep with you guys." the young boy protests. 

"We should play a game." Amelia gives Dan a playful nudge which prompts the man to roll his eyes and stroke his neck. 

"Alright then." he claps his hands together, "First kid to get out of Mom and Dad's room gets twenty bucks tomorrow.".

And  _that_ gets the kids up and out of the room in an instant with quick bids of 'Goodnight' over their shoulders as they rush out of the room following one another. 

Once the door is fully shut, Amy gives him a light slap on his bicep. 

"Bribing our kids? No wonder I'm divorcing you." she brushed her palms together with a disapproving nod. 

He gave a half shrug and leaned forward to place a small peck on her lips, 

"Don't worry, I'll handle it in the morning." 

"Hopefully you remember, Grandpa." she reaches out and flicks the lights off.  

"You shut the fuck up." 

"I'm serious. I wouldn't want you to have an aneurysm on me or anything.." she teases with a playful tone.

"No wonder I'm divorcing you," he mumbles as he closes his eyes to get at least a minute of sleep. 

Teasing one another was usually more fun when they were working, or when he had energy and better yet when he was the one making fun of _her._

Now, it was just aggravating and annoying. 

* * *

"You heard  _what?"_ Ben's eyebrows furrowed as he dropped his spoon in his bowl. 

Amelia clears her throat and looks around the kitchen, once she's certain they're alone she leans forward with a hushed tone. 

"Mom and Dad are getting a divorce." 

The young boy gives a look of bewilderment to his older sister as he jerked his thumb towards the kitchen's entrance, 

"How come they haven't told us then." 

The blonde girl rolls her eyes and folds her arms over the wooden table, 

"They obviously don't want us to know, idiot." Amelia scoffs at her sibling like it's obvious. 

It had been a few days around their house and while she would be the first to admit that they're not the picture perfect family most people seem to believe that they are, things were weird at their house. 

She was old enough to understand that all parents (especially hers) got into small disagreements here and there but, she didn't know how often they had serious arguments. 

"Maybe you heard wrong." he gives her a half shrug, "Who did you even hear this from?" 

"All over the internet." she gives him an obvious stare and takes a bite of her cereal, "Christ, do you even go on the internet?"

Ben dusts off his red blazer and tilts his head to the side, 

"You sound like Dad." 

"And?"

"Stop it. 

Amelia huffs and hits her spoon against the bowl as she watches Ben continue to eat his cereal without a care in the world. 

"Ben. Do you even know what a divorce is?"

He pauses for a moment and looks up from his bowl, 

"I'm not a child, Amelia. I know what divorce is." he gives her a dismissive glare which prompts Amelia to roll her eyes. 

"So when you're asked to choose between living with either Mom or Dad you won't turn into a sensitive mess?" 

His eyes widen at that and he drops his spoon in the bowl as his body quakes in confusion. 

"Wait...as in..seperate?"

Amelia nods her head. 

Then she sees the lightbulb go off in his head and he finally starts to understand the magnitude of what is actually happening. 

"That can't happen!" his hands attack the wooden surface, "I can't choose between Mom and Dad. Mom doesn't cook but Dad does, Mom corrects my homework and Dad doesn't I mean..sometimes he does but it's usually always Mom and-"

"Now you know why I'm freaking out over this." she gives him a stern look as her teeth clench. 

"Freaking out over what?" Dan enters the room with his head down as he scrolls through his phone. 

The two children exchange a look of panic and stumble over the words as they try to formulate a coherent sentence. 

"My..I..we we're-"

"Amelia was freaking out since her period just started." Ben blurts out. "Right Amelia?" he turns to his older sister with his lips pursed together. 

The teenage girl cringes as Dan approaches the coffee maker and scratches the back of his neck, 

"Uh yeah. It really... _hurts."_ she pulls a dramatic face and rubs her stomach. 

Dan's body tenses up as he continues to scroll through his phone and begins pressing the various buttons on the coffee maker. 

"Your mom can help you with that." 

Then Amy enters. 

"Who needs help with what now?" Amy's shoulders tense up as she makes her way towards the fridge and pulls out a water. 

"Nothin-"

"Well. Amelia is having her.. _.cycle._ " Dan awkwardly combs a hand through his salt and pepper colored hair. 

"Dad, I'm fi-"

"Why are you being so weird about this? Just say period, Dan." Amy unscrews the water bottle cap with a roll of her eyes. 

Dan scoffs at that and sighs, 

"Sorry if this isn't just a tad bit  _weird_ to you. My teenage daughter just admitted to me that she's shedding blood." 

"Wait, wha-"

"Who said it's not weird to me?" Amy turns her body so she's facing Dan as she puts a hand on her hip. 

"You just told me to stop being weird about this." he puts a hand on his chest "Would you prefer for me to use medical terminology?" 

Amy shakes her head at him, "I  _expect_ you to help your child when she says something is wrong with her." 

"Fine." Dan throws his hands up in protest and turns to face both Amelia and Ben as they sit in silence at the table. 

"Amelia, do you need a sanitary napkin and or tampon?" he beckons an open palm to Amelia whose faces flares up in a furious red blush. 

"No thank yo-I mean I'm _fine_." Amelia holds her hands up and stands up from the table and takes her forgotten cereal bowl in her hand. 

The room falls silent as Ben follows suit and stands up to discard his bowl in the sink,

"If you need anything, go to my bathroom and look underneath the cabinet on my side." Amy points a finger towards the stairs as Dan turns back around to retrieve a coffee mug. 

Amelia bites her bottom lip and nods, 

"Alright...thanks, Mom." 

Don't live with Dad during your period.

_Noted._

* * *

 "Can I ask you guys a quick question"

Amy takes a lasting sip of her wine and shrugs her shoulders,

"I don't see why not." 

 

Ben runs a hand through his hair and taps his fork against his plate, "I have a... _project_ for uh, school and it's about our family."

Amy crosses her arms and nods, 

"Sounds interesting.." she follows along after taking a bite of her salad. 

Ben clears his throat and kicks Amelia's foot underneath the table. 

"I have one too." Amelia pipes up in alert after dropping her fork onto her plate. 

Dan's brow furrows in confusion as he looks back at the table from the refrigerator. 

"Great education system, thirty thousand dollars just for them to do the same project in two different grades." he turns to Amy and gives her a dubious look. 

Ben and Amelia share a look of panic and return their attention back to their parents. 

"We're supposed to create a history book on our families and it starts from how our parents met," Amelia speaks up.

Amy strokes the nape of her neck as Dan closes the fridge door and strides towards the table and takes a seat at the glass table. 

"Yeah. That's....the project." Ben lies through his teeth and gives a nervous smile. 

It was all apart of their plan. 

Amelia and Ben were both convinced that their parents didn't love each other as much anymore, and while that was heartbreaking and the divorce seemed to be happening. They figured it was time to take matters into their own hands. 

So, they decided to allude to their family project (which was in fact not real) and thought that maybe talking about their history would bring them back together. 

It was a stretch worth taking. 

"Well. What would you like to k-"

"Dan. I don't think we should get into that right now." Amy gives him a tight-lipped smile. 

He raises an eyebrow at Amy who turns towards the kids, 

"Why? It's for a school project." he shakes his head at her like his reasoning is obvious, "If anything, it'll be perfect to put a positive light on-"

"Positive light?" Amy's eyes widen at him incredulously, "There's nothing positive and or light about our relationship back then." she gives a slight chuckle. 

Dan's shoulders hunch at that, "Then we'll alter it a bit..make it school appropriate" 

Amy guffaws at that and leans back in her seat, 

"So, you want the kids to lie to appeal to their general public of twelve to fourteen-year-olds?" Amy speaks with a fork nestled in her right hand. 

Amelia bites down on her bottom lip nervously as Ben taps his foot underneath the table. 

"They aren't lying, they're just...giving the kids a more appropriate story of us." he points in between him and Amy who simply rolls her eyes

"Exactly! We just need to know exactly how you guys met and fell in love with each other and had us." Ben cuts his parents bickering off with a raise of his hand. 

"You'd be better off not telling the story at all then, Honey." Amy gives a slight chuckle. 

Dan groans at that and sits up in his seat, 

"What your mother means is that with some slight altering, the story should be appropriate enough for you guys to write down for your project or whatever." 

Amelia and Ben exchange a knowing look which prompts the older sibling to clear her throat,

"So. How'd you guys meet then?" she gives a hopeful smile. 

They watch as Dan and Amy both look up from their plates for a brief moment with looks of panic flashing in their eyes. 

A moment of silence passes. 

"Well, you go ahead then Pops," Amy smirks at that and takes a bite of her chicken.

Dan cracks his knuckles at that and adjusts his posture in his seat, 

"We met while I was working for a politician and your mom was as well. Both politicians were planning to team up together for a joint campaign and..we met the first day of both of the groups meeting for the first time." 

"Who were the politician?" Amelia inquires

Dan falls silent, "I'd leave both of their names out of this story, it wouldn't be great for our image to be tied up to them nowadays." he says with his mind drifting off into the endless shitstorms they would find themselves in. 

"Was it love at first sight?" Ben leans forward. 

"Ye-"

"No." 

Dan's eyes widen in surprise at that, "Are you  _lying_ to our children right now, Ames?" a playful smirk comes onto his lips. 

She shakes her head. 

"You were a piece of.... _not a nice person_ when we first met," she states like it's obvious. 

"And?" 

"It was not love at first sight." Amy turns towards the kids and gives them a stern nod of her head. 

"Oh please, you were head over heels in love with me." he reaches out to lightly tap her hand but she jerks away from him. 

"I  _despised_ you, Dan." she laughs

"Wait, what does despised mean?" Ben looks to Amelia for guidance who just shakes her head in disbelief. 

Amy ignores him and rolls her eyes,

"What about the falling in love part..that's the most important part." Amelia reminds them with her hand tapping the glass table. 

Dan beams proudly at that, 

"Well, Mommy here had a really big crush on Daddy and I thought she was pretty great herself and then..we had you two and lived happily ever after." he claps his hands at that. 

"That doesn't even sound remotely accurate." Amy squints her eyes at Dan who wears a large grin on his face. 

"How?"

"You never thought I was  _great_ until you couldn't have me anymore." she points at him accusingly and dropping her fork on the plate once again. 

"Wait, you guys broke up?" Amelia's head darts between both parents. 

"No, not necessari-"

"Yes."

Maybe this wasn't the best plan. 

Instead of falling in love with each other, they were falling more into hate with each other and that was the  _last_ thing Amelia and Ben needed. 

"Daddy here broke up with me," Amy reveals as she plays with the sleeves of her sweater. 

Ben's face drops, 

"Why'd you break up with Mom?" 

Dan sighs at that, "It's complicated, Buddy." he holds a hand up. 

 _"Buddy_. Should we mention Buddy while we're at it, Honey?" Amy teases Dan as she leans forward and looks him directly in his eyes. 

The kids watch as Dan cringes at the name and sighs heavily, 

"Wait. Whose Buddy? Was that a dog or something?" Ben's eyes blink in confusion

"Dad. Did you kill Mom's dog, Buddy?" Amelia holds a finger up

Dan pinches the bridge of his nose at that, "I wish." he rolls his eyes in disbelief at the chaos erupting in front of him. 

Amy shakes her head at them, "Buddy is an ex-boyfriend of mine. Your father was very jealous of him." 

"Oh? You thought I was jealous of that living fucking lamppost?" he laughs in surprise. 

"Why else would you mention us dating during that interview?" Amy's shoulders hike up in defense

Ben pivots his body towards Amelia

 _"Interview?"_ he mouths to her in silence and confusion at the parents bicker on and on in the background.

"Why are you digging all of this up? It's been almost _twelve_ years, Ames."  

"Because I don't want the kids living in this fairy tale that we are this perfect couple that you want everyone else to think that we are." she puts a hand on her chest defensively. 

"So you're opening these can of worms in front of our children who just need a simple, nice story to tell to their classmates?"

"Better than them living in some fantasy." Amy inspects her painted fingernails as Dan's jaw clenches in aggravation. 

"Well, now the kids think I'm the world's biggest jackass so great job, _Honey_." 

Amy smirks at that, "No problem, _Darling_." she stands up from the table and stalks away from him. 

Which leaves Ben and Amelia even more confused than ever. 

People who get divorces don't use pet names, do they?

* * *

"There's another article about the divorce." Amelia announces herself into Ben's room after shutting the door. 

The boy looks up from his tablet and sits upon his bed, 

"Another one? Jesus, what is it about this time?"

Amelia sighs and holds out her phone towards her brother, 

"Apparently, they've been meeting with lawyers and stuff talking about custody agreements," she says with worry in her eyes. 

Ben pauses for a moment as he looks up from the phone nestled in his hand, 

"What's custo-dee?" his eyes widen at her. 

She rolls her eyes and snatches her phone back, 

"It's like a contract saying when the kids live with their parents." 

Ben's eyes widen at that as his shoulders risen in panic, 

"So it's like official then?"

Amelia swallows and nods at that, 

"They just haven't said anything to us yet." 

It had been a few weeks since the news broke and it was driving them mad. 

Every day there was always a new story broken about cheating, custody agreements and it didn't help that their parents were arguing with one another on a daily basis over the simplest things. 

"Well, what do we do then?" Ben looks to his older sister for guidance, "Maybe we can talk to them or something? he suggests. 

Amelia crosses her arms and begins to pace back and forth, 

"That won't work, they barely talk to one another as it is." she shakes her head as she combs a frustrated hand through her hair. 

They both ponder for a minute and Amelia's the one to break the silence. 

"We need to find the guy who wrote this." she begins to scroll through her phone towards the top. 

"I thought it was anonymous." Ben's face scrunches in confusion. 

Amelia shakes her head as Ben drops back down onto his bed, 

"The other ones were, this one was written by... _Leon West,"_ she announces with a look of confusion on her face. 

Ben nods at that,

"Okay." he gives a concentrated nod, "Who is that?" he hugged himself nervously. 

Amelia rests a hand on her hip, 

"Hell if I know, apparently some old dude who works the Washington Post and has been writing about our parents getting a divorce" she taps her foot impatiently. 

The room falls silent again as Amelia continues looking through her phone, 

"Do we have a plan or something?" Ben stands up from his band with his arms crossed. 

Amelia begins to type furiously and nods her head moments after she sends out a text. 

She nods and takes a deep breath, 

"We're visiting Godmother Selina next week. And do  _not_ tell Mom." she holds a finger up to Ben. 

His face crinkles at that, "What does she have to do with any of this?" 

"Apparently everything." 

 

 

 


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logically, Amelia was in the process of beginning to understand that the divorce was simply a figment of the presses imagination after hearing Selina say that.
> 
>  
> 
> She knew her parents and part of her couldn't picture seeing them without one another. 
> 
>  
> 
> "I'll never understand it." Ben puts a photo of Selina and Tom down as he hugs himself, "Why would someone report stories that aren't true. Seems a bit dumb to me.".
> 
> "Often people enjoy hearing a lie more than the truth, Son." Tom pats Ben's shoulder reassuringly, "Not to mention it sells more money with such influential people such as your parents and ourselves." he began to knead the young boy's shoulders. 
> 
> "That's a real shitty thing to do." Amelia gives an unimpressed eye-roll as she returns her attention to the scrapbook in her lap. 
> 
> Selina nods at that and sighs, "God, you really are Amy Brookheimer's spawn." she blinks at the teenage girl in disbelief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr: @Casliyn

There wasn't much that they knew about Selina Meyer. 

 

Besides the fact that their parents worked for her for some time and Amelia having her first name as her middle-there wasn't much to it. 

 

Not to mention the fact that Amy managed to go numb whenever the name was even muttered around her. 

 

"How'd you even find her?" Ben questions as their Nanny drives the aimlessly through the long, cobblestone path.

 

"I had to ask Marjorie since Little Richard couldn't give a rat's ass about her and Catherine was too emotional to think of her at the moment." 

 

 _"Language."_ Their Nanny looks through the rearview mirror to give them a stern look which prompts Amelia to roll her eyes. 

 

Ben swallows at that as the car pulls up to the grand estate. She watches as he rolls down the window and they both take an intriguing look at the brick exterior of the grand house. 

 

"Makes sense that she sends us a hundred dollars each for Christmas." Amelia gives an approving nod as the Nanny clears her throat from the front seat. 

 

"Now you two make sure that you finish your project before 7. Your parents want you back at home before seven." she points her index finger at the sternly. 

 

The children both nod their heads and exit the car with Amelia slamming the door shut behind her. 

 

"Do you think they'll get pissed at us for missing practice?" Ben turns to Amelia. 

 

The girl's shoulders hunch up, "I do know that they'll be more pissed at us if they found out we're doing  _this_ versus ditching practice." 

 

They take in the exterior of the home as they trek up the grand brick staircase as they hike towards the front door.

 

The house has no decoration to soften it up.

 

There's a beautifully crafted garden with various flowers of different hues popping along the pathway.

 

Not to mention the fact that the dark gray sky doesn't do much to help the house look more appealing. 

 

"What if she turns us away?" Ben questions after Amelia leans in and gives the door a sharp knock and hits the doorbell simultaneously. 

 

Amelia shakes her head, "Then we'll go back to the drawing board." her hands wave in the air. 

 

Ben's mouth opens to say something but the door swings open cutting him off. 

 

"Oh my god! You two have grown so much!" the man squeals in amazement and delight as his head darts back and forth from Amelia to Ben. 

 

The two children exchange a confused look as the man begins to gush in amusement over them. 

 

"Uh..we're looking for our Godmother, Selina Meyer? We were told that a man named... _Gary Walsh_ would be waiting for us." Amelia holds up her school ID. 

 

The man's lips turn into an even bigger smile, "Guys. It's me! Uncle Gary." he points at himself like it should be obvious to the two of them. 

 

"Don't you remember me?" 

 

They give an awkward smile and gingerly nod their heads in agreement,

 

"Of course we do...Uncle  _Gary?"_ Ben tries to lighten the mood as Gary stands to the side and allows them to enter the house. 

 

 The man gives an earnest nod at that as he shuts the door behind them and dusts his hands off on his slacks.

 

The dimly lit mansion smells of Lavender and fresh Sequoia wood (which Amelia figures come from the expensive wooden furniture surrounding them).

 

"I was so excited when I found out that you wanted to come by and visit Selina. She's been so sick lat-"

 

"She's sick?" Amelia's eyebrows furrow in concern, "Are you sure today's a good day for us to visit?" 

 

Gary clutches his heart at that gently, the move confuses the kids. 

 

"Don't even worry about it!" he waves a hand in the air, "It's important for patients of depression to be visited by close family and friends." he ushers them towards the living room. 

 

Wait. Depression?

 

"Wait a minute. She has depression?" Ben inquires after they've been led into a grand living room with a soft white and purple interior. 

 

Gary's face falls into a pause. 

 

"You didn't know?" his head goes back and forth between the two of them as they settle on the couch and begin to make themselves comfortable. 

 

They share a look and shake their heads.

 

Gary puts a hand on his hip,

 

"I could've  _sworn_ I said something to Dan and Amy about that." he thinks to himself, "Well anyways, just remember that she's not in the greatest of moods right now so be cautious about what we ask her, _okay?"_ he nods his head at the kids and they stare at him dumbfoundedly. 

 

A moment of silence falls through the living room as Gary briskly crosses over to the kitchen calling out for any requests they may desire from the kitchen over his shoulder.

 

"Millie. I think this was a mistake." Ben whispers quietly after Gary's humming and talking to himself in the kitchen,

 

"We should just say hi and go," he suggests. "Obviously she doesn't feel too well and Mom and Dad don't know that we're here."

 

They could leave, just make a quick hello and promptly exit but, there was a big part of her that had an itching to get to the bottom of what was happening between her parents. 

 

"Pay no attention to Gary. He's too dramatic for my liking and tolerance." the older woman leers at Gary who pays no mind in the kitchen. 

 

Ben's eyes mirror Amelia's as they go round.

 

"Holy hell have you two grown." Selina blinks in disbelief as the kids awkwardly jolt up from the couch and stand close to one another. 

 

There was so much they wanted to ask. 

 

All they've heard about the woman was either from the press or from their parents (and lord knows how fucking anxious their mom got every time the name 'Selina Meyer' was even mentioned.

 

"So. I take it you two have been gettin' the Christmas cards from me." she gives the two a small nod as she leans back in the single seat that rests in the middle of the grand living room. 

 

Amelia rubbed her shoulder as she crosses her legs,  "We have...thank you." the young girl offers as her brother sits in silence next to her. 

 

"We..didn't know you were so... _creative?"_ Ben nervously taps his foot on the carpeting which prompts Selina to guffaw in disbelief. 

 

"Please." she took a long look at her painted nails, "I've been forwardin' that crap to Gary for years, now." 

 

From the photos they had seen of the woman, she was always well kept and seemed to have an aura of radiance. 

 

To Amelia, it was like Audrey Hepburn had met Jackie O. 

 

From her gowns to her bouncing brunette waves, it was hard to imagine a woman who glowed so much in the photos managed to be so dim in person. 

 

 "Anyways. What could I do ya' two for?" she holds her hands together and rests her arm on the armrest of the chair. 

 

The two siblings exchange a lost look with one another.

 

"We were wondering if you could talk to us a little bit about our parents." Amelia's electric blue eyes glitter at Selina. 

 

There's a look of pain and nostalgia in Selina's eyes as she clears her throat the moment Gary returns to the room with a steel tray of drinks in hand. 

 

"Your parents, huh?" her thin eyebrows arch in hesitation as she takes a mug from the tray. "Haven't spoken to those two in years." 

 

 _"Those traitors._ " Gary narrows his beady eyes at Selina who takes a sip of her mug. 

 

"Excuse me?" Ben blinks at Gary in disbelief, "Did you just call our parents traitors?"

 

Gary's face screws up as Selina holds up a hand to the young boy, "Forgive Gary, he's still hormonal over some events that have taken place over the past few years." 

 

Ben's shoulders fall as he turns back towards Selina. 

 

"Gary.  _Out."_ Selina points a finger towards the grand staircase to the older man who gives her a sincere nod and stalks away with a somewhat disappointed look on his pale face. 

 

A moment of silence falls through the room and having had enough, Selina clasps her hands together and clears her throat. 

 

"Look. We can always come back another day if today is too..crazy for you." Amelia reasons as she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

 

"Do your parents know you two are here?" she pressed her lips together and pointed in between the two children. 

 

Their eyes slightly bulged at the question and begin to stumble over themselves to find an answer. 

 

She holds a hand up to cut them off, "I take it they  _don't_ know you're here and I can only imagine the type of hell your mother would raise if she found out you came to visit me." 

 

"Why would she be pissed?" Ben leans forward in interest. 

 

She leans back in her chair and looks back up at them, "That's a question you'll need to ask your Mother." she points a finger at Ben who bites his bottom lip.

 

"We can't." Amelia speaks up, "She'll get weird and...spaz out...and we just need answers." 

 

Selina sighs as she soaks that information up and folds her hands in her lap, "Answers about what? The divorce they're apparently getting." 

 

Ben's mouth drops in surprise, "How'd you know about that?" 

 

Selina swings her foot back and forth, "Hard to not hear about it. That's all you can hear and read about nowadays." she states like it's obvious. 

 

It was evident that Selina knew something that they didn't and that irritated the living shit out of Amelia. 

 

She was used to either being always right and or knowing everything (it was quite a natural feeling) and the thought of someone else having that power over her drew her absolutely mad. 

 

"Then is it true?" Amelia studied the woman's movements, "Are they getting a divorce, yes or no." 

 

The older woman's bottom lip quivered as she stood up from the chair and motioned for them to follow her. 

 

"Follow me, Baby Egans," she orders them as she turns around and makes her way towards the staircase. 

* * *

 

 "Christ, today's been a fucking day." Amy huffs out as she throws herself onto the couch next to Dan.

 

"You and me both." Dan groans out as he pinches the bridge of his nose and leans his head back against the couch.

 

Amy adjusts herself so she is propped up against his arm and begins to discard her heels to the ground with a loud drop that's enough to make Dan do a double take. 

 

"Hear that news about Jonah cursing out his kid's tutor?" he scrolls through his tablet. 

 

She gives a slow nod at that and smiles, "Because the kid thought the capital of Ohio was the letter 'O'?" she grins at him in disbelief, "Riveting." 

 

Dan crosses his legs as he bends down and places a soft peck on the crown of her head. 

 

"I'd say the apple falls far from the tree but that'd be a causeless insult to apples." he gives a tight-lipped smile which prompts Amy to wrap an arm around his waist. 

 

They take in the silent atmosphere of their somewhat empty home. 

 

"Make dinner yet?" Amy's stomach rumbles as she feels her eyelids become heavy. 

 

Dan's expression dulls as he tugs at the string on his sweatpants lazily, "I had too much work to do to make anything." he admits with a groan, "I'll order a pizza?" he picks up his phone.

 

She yawns like a cat at that, "That's fine. Ask the kids what they want." she feels his hand begin to stroke her hair gently. 

 

He nibbles on his bottom lip, "You know those two. Ben'll eat anything and Millie will end up eating anything after whatever mood swing she's coming off of." he begins to type on his cellphone. 

 

It wasn't often that their house was this quiet. 

 

Sure, before kids they came home to a radio silent apartment but thanks to the nature of their jobs, it didn't last as long as they probably would've liked it at times. 

 

Then with the added bonus of not only one but two kids, their house seemed like a fucking zoo at times. 

 

It was either Ben playing one of his loud ass video games or sometimes playing some type of sport or whatever and then you had Amelia who would either be on the phone complaining to one of her girlfriends or (much to Dan's dismay) flirting with some little asshole boy on the phone. 

 

"Speaking of our children, where are they?" Amy rises from her position.

 

He stretches his legs out on the coffee table which prompts Amy to lightly slap his bicep (she wasn't a big fan of him putting his feet on their furniture) and give him a lost look.

 

"Elaine had to take them to their friend's houses to finish their projects for school." 

 

She removes her body from Dan's and arches an eyebrow at him as he dials the number on his phone. 

 

"They've been worrying me for a while," Amy confesses as she combs a hand through her butter blonde hair.

 

"Then you're doing your job, Sweetie." he taps her nose and sighs as he listens to the ringing of the other line. 

 

She cringes at him and stands up from the couch, "Stop with the pet names." she throws over her shoulder as she pads over to the kitchen door.

 

"You love it when I do." he retorts with a smug ass smile that's enough to make her roll her eyes. 

 

She walks to the kitchen and pulls out the bottle of Red Wine along with two glasses and pours to two of them a generous amount in both (a little bit more in her glass actually, but who's counting). 

 

After a day of nonstop paperwork and phone calls, a few glasses of wine and the cheesiest pizza known to mankind was the only way she wanted to end the night. 

 

She extends the glass out to Dan who takes it graciously as she returns to her spot on the couch and leans her head against his arm once again with a controlled sigh. 

 

As Dan finishes their order she takes a few sips of the wine as she twists her legs underneath her body.

 

"Thanks, Man." Dan finishes the call and hangs up directly after to take a sip of the rich, smooth wine. "Pizza will be here in about forty minutes." he pulls Amy in closer by her waist. 

 

"Forty minutes?" Amy's eyebrow raises in disbelief, "What the hell are we going to do for forty fucking minutes. I'm starving."

 

 He gazes at her as he places both of their glasses on the table and squeezes her waist knowingly.

 

"I can think of a few things."

 

Amy tries to loom away from him but he's not having any of it. 

 

"I'm hungry, Dan." she protests with a small smirk that he mirrors with a smugger version of his own. 

 

"So am I." he shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly as he runs a hand through her blonde locks. "Come on, just a quickie or  _two."_ he encourages her with a whisper and kisses her earlobe. 

 

She glances up at the ceiling as she succumbs to his touch and lips. 

 

"We had one already...this morning in the shower." she grabs his chin and gives him a stern look. He gives her a pleading look and pulls away from her hold.

 

"And we can have  _another_ one right now; on the couch, in the shower, in the kitchen or even on the floor since our kids won't be able to interrupt us." he pulls her back into his body. 

 

"What about the kids?" she pauses as he leans in to devour her neck with his lips.

 

"What about them?" he blinks at her in aggravation as he pulls her body on top of him,

 

"Elaine has them. Give me ten minutes, tops." he returns his lips to his neck which prompts Amy to moan hesitantly.

 

And that's what they do on their living room couch (and fortunately for them, the kids  _don't_ come home yet).

 

* * *

 

 "Do you talk to Catherine still?" Ben asks as Selina rifles through a photo album and stops to comment about Catherine's hair in one photo. 

 

A pained look flashes on Selina's pale face and she rolls her eyes dramatically.

 

"At this point, no." she taps the photo of her daughter, "She decided to leave me in the dust along with her shit stain of a father." she turns the page in the scrapbook.

 

Amelia raises her chin in interest as Selina and Ben continue to admire the photos in the scrapbook.

 

"I didn't know that Tom was Catherine's dad." she pauses for a brief moment which is enough for Selina to look up from the scrapbook with a comical smile on her lips. 

 

"God no." she holds a hand up to the young girl, "If TJ and I were to ever have a child it wouldn't bear the emotional weakness Catherine possesses."

 

The two children exchange a look and return their eyes to the plethora of scrapbooks before them.

 

Since their last visit went well enough, they decided to return back to visit Selina.

 

They were taken aback by how much they enjoyed being in the woman's company. 

 

The stories she told, the plethora of photos she had (that Gary scrapbooked of course) and not to mention the honesty that came along with her. 

 

Despite them not actually getting the answers to if their parents were, in fact, getting a divorce, they enjoyed visiting for other reasons now.

 

Maybe Selina Meyer wasn't  _that_ bad of a person everyone made her out to be. 

 

"Speak of the devil.." Selina's eyes narrow as Tom makes his way into the office space with a greeting hand waved towards the children in the room. 

 

The older gentleman strides over to Selina and bends down to place a kiss on the crown of her head. 

 

"Amelia, Benjamin. It's nice seeing you two 'round here, again." he offers a warm smile to the two children who smile in return. 

 

"I see you broke out Gary's scrapbooks." he peers over Selina's shoulder to get a good look at the book she's holding.

"What's the special occasion this time?" he takes a seat in the chair behind Selina as she sits on the floor with the children. 

 

Ben picks up a photo frame which features a picture of Selina in Finland, "We wanted to come by and visit Godmother Selina again." he admits as she leers at the photo in interest. 

 

"Yep." Selina looks up at Tom, "Wanted to show these two the stock they come from." she nods as he combs a hand through her brunette mane. 

 

Tom strokes his chin and nods, "Seems interesting. There's quite a history between those two." he leans forward and clasps his hands together. 

 

Amelia continues flipping through the small red scrapbook at a rapid pace until she falls on a photo of two people who were in fact not Selina and or Tom. 

 

It's her parents.

 

"When was this taken?" she turns the book towards Selina with her eyes going wide in excitement, "They look younger."

 

Selina adjusts her glasses as she and Tom lean in to get a good look at the photo. 

 

In the photo, her mom has on a black gown with her butter blonde hair combed into a professional updo and her father is dressed in a classic black tuxedo with their backs turned towards the camera. 

 

"God." Selina's face contorts in disgust, _"Hel-fuckin-sinki."_ she rolls her eyes as Tom shrugs his shoulders as if it's no big deal. 

 

"What's wrong with Helsinki?" Ben looks up from the photo to Selina and Tom. 

 

"I actually had a decent time out there." Tom leaned back in the seat and placed his hands in his lap which makes Selina push his leg.

 

"Speak for yourself, Prince Charming." she rolls her eyes and leans against the chair in defeat, " _Helsinki_ is hell. All I remember about that trip was the press houndin' me like always for some shit that was out of my goddamn reach and  _Minna."_ she shudders at the nostalgia of the trip. 

 

"Who is Minna?" the name rolls of foreign on Ben's tongue. 

 

"A Finnish foreign Barbie who has a brain about the size of a lima bean." she tosses a photo to the side which Tom hesitantly picks up from the ground directly after it lands. 

 

"Were they dating in this photo?" Amelia questions. 

 

Selina tilts her head to the side as she takes another look at the photo, "Dating, no. Angrily flirting with one another, definitely yes." she points at the photo with a nod. 

 

From what Selina had told them, it seems that her parents had been more in love than they had ever thought and the thought of a divorce just seemed so unlikely from them.

 

A few days ago when Ben had asked if their parents had ever loved each other, Selina's response had remained to stick with Amelia.

 

"You're damn right they do, those two were like two peas in a fuckin' pod. They're both attached to each other like fuckin' strings but that father of your's is far more attached to Amy than anyone thinks."

 

It burned in the back of her brain for the past few days. 

 

Logically, Amelia was in the process of beginning to understand that the divorce was simply a figment of the presses imagination after hearing Selina say that.

 

She  _knew_ her parents and part of her couldn't picture seeing them without one another. 

 

"I'll never understand it." Ben puts a photo of Selina and Tom down as he hugs himself, "Why would someone report stories that aren't true. Seems a bit dumb to me.".

 

"Often people enjoy hearing a lie more than the truth, Son." Tom pats Ben's shoulder reassuringly, "Not to mention it sells more money with such influential people such as your parents and ourselves." he began to knead the young boy's shoulders. 

 

"That's a real shitty thing to do." Amelia gives an unimpressed eye-roll as she returns her attention to the scrapbook in her lap. 

 

Selina nods at that and sighs, "God, you really are Amy Brookheimer's spawn." she blinks at the teenage girl in disbelief. 

 

Tom rises out of the seat slowly and claps his hands together, "I'm gonna go downstairs and whip up a few burgers." he maneuvers his way around their piles of books on the floor. 

 

"Anyone hungry?" he offers to the group. 

 

Selina points at herself and at the kids, "We'll all take one...unless you two follow that Vegan shit?" she raises an eyebrow at the kids.

 

The kids shake their heads in response. 

 

"Well, in that case, fire that bad boy up." Selina gives Tom an approving nod which prompts the older man to leave the room.

 

After Tom exits the room, Amelia finds herself staring at the photo of her parents out of the corner of her eye as she moves on to look at the other photo booth.

 

In the background, she listens to Ben and Selina laugh at whatever story she was telling to him and her mind continued to wander to other things.

 

"Would you like to keep the photo?" The older woman offers; startling Amelia. 

 

The blonde girl sputters and shakes her head, "It's fine..I'm just observing it." she feigns. Ben continues rifling through the pages of the book, taking photos of his phone and Selina leans forward to remove the photo from the book that was in her lap.

 

"Take it, kid, it'll last longer anyway." 

 

She feels herself smile as she takes the photo in her hands and smiles to herself. 

 

"Is this our Uncle Ben?" Ben's eyes go round in bewilderment as he shows the book to Selina. 

 

The brunette woman adjusts her glasses and leans forward to get a good look at the photo.

 

"It sure is." she chuckles to herself, "God I miss that sucker. He was a real joy..him and that big mug of his." a look of remembrance washes over her face. 

 

"Where is he?" Ben's eyebrows arch in wonder. 

 

"He passed a few years back, his last stroke was the breaking point." a look of sadness flickers in her eyes. 

 

"Is that who Ben got his name from?" Amelia points at her younger brother which prompts Selina to look at the young boy up and down. 

 

"Yep. Your father  _adored_ Ben and your mom enjoyed him at times too. He was like a lovable, teddy bear who happened to be a manic depressant with a drinking problem." she chuckles to herself in sadness. 

 

"Sounds....touching," Ben responds with a confused glance at his sister. 

 

It was interesting learning about their parent's history. 

 

They never understood why their parents seemed so secretive about their past because it sounded pretty damn cool to them so far. 

 

It was exciting to learn of the different people they met on trips they went on since it all in a way ended up from them to be together. 

 

Then there's a knock at the front door downstairs. 

 

Followed by a few more knocks and angry bangs which is enough to startle them.

 

"Don't you have security?" Amelia turns to Selina as she stands up and dusts off her purple sweater. 

 

"Whoever it is somehow got through security." she takes off her glasses and exits the room briskly. 

 

"Should we hide?" Ben's face goes pale as his jewel-like eyes go round in panic.  

 

The girl throws her hands in the air, "Hell if I know, she said that they got through security so we should be safe." she tugs the collar of her crew neck sweater. 

 

Having had enough of the suspicion, the blonde girl raises to her feet and exits the room with her brother trailing behind her. 

 

They lean over the staircase's railing to see none other than their parents at the front door.

 

"Ames, Dan? What are you two doing here?" Selina feigns innocence as she arrives next to Tom who stands at the front door. 

 

They watch as their parents exchange a look and Amy grits her teeth, 

 

"Are our children here?" she narrows her eyes at Selina and Tom as Dan stands silently next to his wife with his phone in hand. 

 

Selina clears her throat, 

 

"Yes." she admits which prompts the kids to exchange a panicked look, "They came here to..do some sort of  _project_ or whatever." she waves her hand in the air. 

 

Amy bites her bottom lip and crosses her arms, 

 

"Have they been coming here after school?" Dan waves around the house as Tom invites them in. 

 

Tom nods earnestly, "It wasn't anything to be concerned of. The children were simply here trying to finish a project for school and we offered to help." he holds a hand up as Amy's head begins to whip around the mansion.

 

"Well the next time they need help with something, they can come back home and ask their  _parents._ " she snaps at them in anger. 

 

Amy fumes silently as Dan clears his throat, "Thanks for keeping them out of trouble.." he holds a hand up. 

 

"No problem." Tom extends his hand to both Dan and Amy and they shake them earnestly (or in Amy's case pissed). 

 

Amy turns around and is met with her two children staring at her in disbelief and shock. 

 

Her nostrils flare as she points a finger at the two of them, "Amelia Selina and Benjamin Daniel get in the car,  _now."_ she orders them sternly. 

 

The kids waste no time in retrieving their items and making their way back down the grand staircase to meet their children. 

 

They turn to bid Selina and Tom goodbye with small hugs and begin to walk out of the door when Selina speaks up, 

 

"Would you all like to stay for dinner? Tom started making some burgers." she offers sheepishly which prompts Amy to grit her teeth. 

 

"No thank you, Ma'am." Amy ushers her kids out of the front door, "Thanks for..watching my kids." she avoids eye contact with the older woman. 

 

Selina gives a small smile, "Anytime, Ames."

 

* * *

 

 

"Not only did you betray  _our_ trust but you managed to break almost every single rule along the way." Amy paces back and forth in front of them after they've arrived home and were sent to the living room for a family meeting. 

 

"Mom, if you would just lis-"

 

"No, Amelia." Amy holds her hands up to her daughter, "You don't get to talk right now!" she points at the teenage girl.

 

Amelia's head hangs in shame as Ben awkwardly fiddles with his hands in his lap with his eyes down. 

 

"What your mother means to say is that you guys shouldn't have lied like this to us." Dan puts a hand on Amy's shoulder and pulls her away from the middle of the room for a moment. 

 

"When we say not to do things we do it because we're trying to  _protect_ you." he unclenched his fist and let them hit his sides. 

 

This further infuriates the kids. 

 

"You're acting like we went to go a drug alley or something," Amelia speaks up angrily as she adjusts her posture. 

 

"All we did was go visit our Godmother, I don't see the harm in that." Ben puts his hands on his chest. 

 

Amy groans and pushes Dan out of the way, 

 

"There are too many problems there, that's why." she interjects "We've been in that environment for years and we don't want to put you in the same position we were in." 

 

"Mom. Selina has  _changed."_ Ben tries to reason with his mother, "I know that she said some mean stuff to you ages ago but now she's different." he throws his hands in the air. 

 

Amy takes a deep breath and turns away for a brief second.

 

"Guys, stop trying to go back and forth with this. What you did was  _wrong_ and there need to be punishments for your actions." Dan holds his hands up to silence everyone from their bickering. 

 

Amy's chest rises up and down as she continues taking a few rapid deep breaths.

 

"Just give us our punishment already. I'm sick of being scolded for doing something when we obviously did  _nothing._ " Amelia leaned back and rested her head against the couch. 

 

Amy and Dan exchange a look. 

 

"You're grounded for a month." Amy claps her hands together and opens her palms out to the kids, "No cell phones or television for a full month." 

 

Their jaws drop in disbelief. 

 

"Are you serious?" Ben's eyebrows arch in confusion

 

 _"Very._ Give me your phone." she gives the young boy a stern look which is enough for him to hand over his phone with no difficulty. 

 

She keeps her palm open to her daughter who sighs and drops her phone in the palm. 

 

"And no more of these disappearing acts, you are to only go home, school and  _practice_ after school. No ifs, ands, or buts." Dan massaged the back of his neck as Amy's grip tightens on the cell phones. 

 

The room falls silent as Amelia crosses her arms and Ben taps his foot on the floor nervously. 

 

"If you  _talked_ to us we could tell you why we visited her." Amelia rolls her eyes as Amy begins to remove her jacket. 

 

"Nope. You're time's up, go up to your rooms and begin taking out your television's." she points at the stairs and gives them yet another stern look. 

 

Having had enough, Amelia stands up and stomps her way towards the staircase. 

 

"She was right about you." she throws over her shoulders as her younger brother follows her to the staircase. 

 

Technically, Selina didn't say anything remotely  _negative_ about Amy...

 

It's just that Amelia was so pissed off she wanted her to  _think_ that she did. 

 

* * *

 

 

"How did you learn how to cook?" Ben wonders as he watches his sister flip a pancake onto a plate. 

 

She gives a half shrug while concentrating on not dropping the plate, "It's pretty self-explanatory plus it helps watching Dad cook Breakfast for the past fourteen years." 

 

The boy nods at that and takes the plate from his sister's hand and onto the wooden tray. 

 

Since they were only two weeks into their punishment they had a lot of time to think.

 

Maybe, just  _maybe_ for the first time ever, maybe Amelia Egan was in the wrong. 

 

She still hadn't completely accepted it (come on, she's  _never_ wrong) but, she was tired of being grounded and stuck in the house twenty-four seven. 

 

Since there was nothing better to do at home and they both felt bad about acting like total asshats to their parents, they decided to take it upon themselves to cook Breakfast for them. 

 

They woke up early on Sunday and cooked a nice, well-prepared meal for their parents to start their morning off with. 

 

Hopefully with a gesture as sweet and upexpected as this, maybe their parents could reconsider their punishment and quite possibly end it (because to be quite frank, they were losing their fucking minds from staying in all day). 

 

"Did you pour the Orange Juice?" she turns off the stove and faces her younger brother who nods languidly. 

 

"Poured it ahead of time 'cause I knew you'd forget." he places the glasses on the wooden tray. "Besides that, we should be done." 

 

She nods at that and does a once over look for the food tray; making sure everything is in place perfectly the way it should be. 

 

"Alright. It looks good." she yawns and throws her pigtail braids behind her back, "Are you ready?" she turns to her brother who snuggles into his green hoodie. 

 

Ben takes a look at the wall clock, "It's 7:30. Mom should be reading E-Mails and Dad should be on Twitter right about now." he holds a thumbs up which prompts the teenage girl to nod.

 

She claps her hands together, "Alright. Let's go blow the socks off of our parents." she leans forward and takes the handles of the tray in her hands. 

 

They quietly make their way up the stairs to the master bedroom with quiet, cautious feet. 

 

They walk past the various photo frames adorning the walls and finally arrive at the outside of their parent's bedroom door. 

 

"Okay, on three we go in, wake them up and give them the Breakfast," Ben whispers quietly as Amelia wraps her hand around the doorknob and gives him an understanding nod. 

 

They count to three and swing open the door to the bedroom revealing none other than their parents who were in bed but  _not_ sleeping like they were expecting them to.

 

She honestly doesn't know what they were doing (Okay, so she had a pretty good idea of what they were  _doing)_ but it had all happened so goddamn quick she was trying to wrap her head around it. 

 

They had opened the door to give them the food but were met with the sight of their parents, naked and kissing and she had run out of the room screaming to avoid seeing what was left of them. 

 

Not to mention the fact that Ben dropped the food out of shock when he too ran out of the room screaming like a fucking lunatic. 

 

So much for a goddamn surprise.

 

* * *

 

 

"Obviously you guys walked in on us unexpectedly while we were... _preoccupied."_ Dan rubs his arm up and down as Amy cringed in horror next to him. 

 

The kids shudder in horror from the couch as they avoid their parent's eyesight. 

 

"I'm just....Mom was  _screaming."_ Ben's eyes go round in horror which further prompts Amy to hide her face in her hands.

 

"They weren't bad screams they were.... _happy_ screams." Dan further elaborates with an awkward smile to lighten the mood which causes Amelia to close her eyes and shake her head in disgust. 

 

"Please stop talking, Dad." she holds a hand up in protest.

 

He throws his hands up in defeat and turns to Amy, "Would you like to take the floor? You're kinda the lady of the hour here." he nods his head at the kids which prompt the blonde woman to groan in defeat.

 

"This is so awkward," she mumbles out as she threaded a hand through her hair. "Okay, lets just all air  _everything_ out." she pushes past Dan and stands in front of the kids. 

 

"We know that you guys are..confused." she looks in between the two children who fiddle with their fingers. 

 

 _"Extremely."_ Amelia rubs her shoulder awkwardly as Ben toys with the string of his hoodie. 

 

"And we get that..it's just...there's a lot going on right now." she claps her hands together. 

 

"We know about the divorce rumors." Amelia pipes up as Amy tries to find the words to explain herself along with Dan. 

 

Their eyes go round at her. 

 

"Wait, what?" Dan pauses, "Where'd you hear this?" 

 

"The internet, tv, school...everywhere really," she admits with a small voice as Ben's breathing gets picked up. 

 

"I didn't know that divorced people had sex still." the young boy rambles with his eyes bulging out if it's sockets, "I thought the whole  _point_ of divorce was because you didn't like having sex with each other." his hands flail all over the place.

 

"Please only have sex with each other." Ben pleads with desperate eyes which causes Amelia to shudder in shame. 

 

"You won't have to worry about that, Buddy." Dan walks over to pat his son on the back as Amy throws her head back in embarrassment as the blush creeps upon her face. 

 

"Will you shut the fuck up?" Amy grits out to Dan who rounds the coffee table and takes a stand next to him. 

 

He hands his head in shame and apologizes silently as their kids stare up at them in disbelief. 

 

"Married people don't speak like that to each other!" Amelia leans forward and points a finger at the two as Ben's breathing gets faster and faster. 

 

"Please don't make me choose between the both of you, I like you both for different reasons.." he clutches his chest which is enough for Amy to bend down and look her son in the eyes. 

 

"Ben, Honey." she calms herself down, "No one is getting a divorce." she reaches out and takes a hold of her son's shaking arms. 

 

"Then why is Leon West saying that you are?" he retorts in panic. 

 

This prompts Dan and Amy to exchange a brief look, 

 

"Wait...Leon West? How'd you figure that out?" Dan inches closer to his kids. 

 

"I found out and asked Godmother Selina if he would've done it and she said yes," Amelia admits with a small voice as she brings her knees to her chest. 

 

The room falls silent as Amy stands from the ground and begins to pace back and forth as she ties her robe tighter. 

 

"How long have you two known about this?" she took in a deep breath. 

 

The kids exchange a look, 

 

"Almost a month." Ben's breathing returns to normal for the first time in what seems like hours. 

 

Dan blows out his cheeks as Amy exhales loudly, 

 

"That fucker!" she swears loudly as turns her body away from the kids. Dan cracks his knuckles and nods finally understanding what's been happening. 

 

"That's why you went to talk to Selina, huh?" he narrows his eyes at the kids. 

 

The children nod as Ben takes a few deep breaths, "We were too scared to ask you guys if it was true  _so,_ we decided to pay her a visit." 

 

"What'd she tell you?" Amy cocks her head to the side in interest, 

 

"About you guys and how you worked together and had us, "Ben confesses sadly,

 

"We figured that if we found out how you guys fell in love then we could convince you guys to fall  _back_ in love with each other." 

 

And the room goes radio silent this time. 

 

As a parent, they learned to always assume the worst. 

 

They were mentally prepared for their reasoning to be either drug-related or alcohol-related and to hear their reasoning be so....pure was heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. 

 

"We know you were upset about us visiting her, so that's why we tried to make you guys Breakfast this morning." Amelia awkwardly points up the stairs which prompt Amy to give Dan a small sad smile. 

 

"We're sorry." Ben gives a half shrug and returns his fingers to his lap. 

 

Since they were so used to one another, they never thought of their language and or actions being weird and or troubling but they could understand why their kids would think otherwise. 

 

Even though they were used to it, they couldn't expect their kids to be as well. 

 

"Well, we're sorry too," Amy speaks up for them.

 

"We should've said something about the whole rumor thing earlier, we  _thought_ we would have it under control earlier but, we didn't know it would escalate to this level." Dan strokes his beard tenderly. 

 

"Regardless of what everyone else says, we love each other very much and love you two just as much." Amy gives the kids a small smile.

 

Then Amy's stomach groans.

 

Along with Ben's.

 

"I'll tell you what, I'll take us out to Breakfast so we can go ahead and put this Morning behind us." Dan reasons with the group which prompts everyone to nod. 

 

"Sounds like a plan." Amelia rises to her feet and gives both of her parents a hug and takes off towards the staircase.

 

"What about Godmother Selina and Godfather Tom, can we still go over there sometimes?" Ben gives his parents a sweet smile after him and his father share a hug. 

 

Amy takes a deep breath and sighs.

 

Yes, she could hold a grudge on Selina Meyer and the shit she's put her through all those years way back when for all of eternity.

 

But, that didn't seem necessary anymore. 

 

"I'll call her today to clear a few things up." she ruffles her son's brunette hair,

 

"But yes, you can go visit your Godmother and Godfather when you can." 

 

It's a start at least and isn't that what life's about?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure to leave a comment and kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to leave a comment and or kudos!


End file.
